Janaki Ammal

Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal was an Indian botanist who worked on plant breeding, cytogenetics and phytogeography. Her most notable work involved studies on sugarcane and the eggplant (brinjal). She also worked on the cytogenetics of a range of plants and co-authored the Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants (1945) with C.D. Darlington. She took an interest in ethnobotany and plants of medicinal and economic value from the rain forests of Kerala, India. Her remarkable research, which led to better cross-breeds of a sweeter variety therefore contributed to India’s sugarcane independence. Ammal is sometimes referred to as the 'woman who sweetened India's sugar cane'. She was awarded Padma Shri in 1977.